Bulls post third-straight win, sixth in last seven matches
TAMPA (Mar. 17, 2022) – The University of South Florida men’s tennis team (8-6) won three singles matches and a pair of doubles Thursday afternoon at the USF Varsity Tennis Courts on their way to a tight, 4-3 win over No. 16 Columbia (9-5). It marked the Bulls third-straight win and sixth in their last seven matches.
USF clinched the doubles point by taking two of three matches. On Court 3, USF’s Alvin Tudorica and Sergio Gomez-Montesa opened the scoring with a swift 6-1 victory over Columbia’s Roko Horvat and Jayden Templeman. On Court Two, the Lions’ Alex Kotzen and Hugo Hashimoto claimed a 6-4 win over the Bulls’ Chase Ferguson and Manuel Goncalves won.
With all eyes set on Court 1, the Bulls’ duo of Rithvik Bollipalli and Bruno Oliveira claimed a very tight match over the Lion’s duo of Max Westphal and Theo Winegar. Bollipalli and Oliveira claimed the tiebreaker, 7-4, to post the 7-6 victory.
Columbia’s Hashimoto defeated Ferguson 6-0, 6-2 to open singles action and claim Columbia’s first point of the match, while on Court 4 Columbia’s Austen Huang was victorious in straight sets over Gomez-Montesa, 6-4, 6-3.
The Bulls rallied, as Tudorica scored the first singles point. After falling 6-0 in the first set, he claimed the last two sets, 6-3, 6-3, to defeat Columbia’s Horvat.
Mere minutes after on Court 3, Antonio Muniz put USF onto match point with his win over Max Westphal 7-6 (7-3), 6-4.
All eyes once again fell on Bruno Oliveira, this time on Court 6. He was key in securing the Bulls’ doubles point, now he had a chance to claim the match. After taking the first set 6-4, he closed the door on a Columbia comeback and claimed the match for the Bulls with a 7-5 second set victory.
The Bulls’ Ivan Yatsuk claimed the opening set on Court 1, 7-6, after winning a 7-4 tiebreaker. Columbia’s Alex Kotzen fought back and claimed the following two sets 6-3, 6-4 to win the match.
Quotable – USF Head Coach Ashley Fisher
“So proud and excited for our guys today. They work hard at their craft and have moved from home countries to be here. They play the matches and deserve all the credit. We wanted it to be a battle and it was. For Bruno to clinch after some spots he has been in this year just shows that if you do the work results will come. This was a big-time team effort though and this proved this team is capable of.”
Up Next
The Bulls head to Texas to take on No. 3 TCU Saturday at 12:00 p.m. at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center.
Match One Results vs. Columbia
Doubles
1. Rithvik Bollipalli/Bruno Oliveira (USF) def. Max Westphal/Theo Winegar (COL), 7-6 (7-4)
2. Alex Kotzen/Hugo Hashimoto (COL) def. Chase Ferguson/Manuel Goncalves (USF), 6-4
3. Sergio Gomez Montesa/Alvin Tudorica (USF) def. Roko Horvat/Jayden Templeman (COL), 6-1
Order of finish: (3, 2, 1)
Singles
1. Alex Kotzen (COL) def. Ivan Yatsuk (USF), 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, 6-4
2. Hugo Hashimoto (COL) def. Chase Ferguson (USF), 6-0, 6-2
3. Antonio Muniz (USF) def. Max Westphal (COL), 7-6 (7-3), 6-4
4. Austen Huang (COL) def. Sergio Gomez Montesa (USF), 6-4, 6-3
5. Alvin Tudorica (USF) def. Roko Horvat (COL), 0-6, 6-3, 6-3
6. Bruno Oliveira (USF) def. Ishaan Ravichander (COL), 6-4, 7-5
Order of finish for singles: (2, 4, 5, 3, 6, 1)
About Men’s Tennis
Be sure to follow USF men’s tennis on social media (Twitter / Facebook / Instagram) and visit GoUSFBulls.com for the most up-to-date information. Head coach Ashley Fisher will begin his sixth year at the helm of the program for the 2021-22 season.
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